Are you wondering how your fiance can adopt your son? This question is quite common, usually from a young child’s mother. Sometimes it’s the father of a young child. Typically, the mother has been newly engaged, and the biological father is not in the picture. Often mom hasn’t seen or heard from that biological father in years. Being newly engaged, they are so excited for their family unit to be completed. So they want to make their new husband the legal father of their child while making them their legal husband.

So mothers ask, how can my fiance adopt my son? They are excited to be getting married. They are ready for things to be finalized, so they don’t have to think about it anymore.

Get Legally Married

The first thing I tell them is you need to get married first in Oklahoma. This process is a stepparent adoption, and you have to be married for them to be technically a stepparent. So go ahead and put that ring on your finger and get that wedding done. You can go down to the courthouse or wait until your wonderfully planned wedding. But you need to be legally married before filing for stepparent adoption.

How Soon Can We File for Step-Parent Adoption?

The next question that comes up right after is how soon after we get married can we file. Technically the next day, you can file. However, here at Step Up Adoptions, we always recommend you wait at least one year. If you’re married for less than a year, you have to do a home study. This makes the process a little bit longer and costs a little more money because they have to do an interview in your home and conduct an inspection of your home. If you wait at least one year, we can ask the court to waive that requirement, making the process more efficient.

How Fast Can You Get the Adoption Done?

Next, people usually ask how fast you can get the adoption done. On average, here in Oklahoma, it’s roughly 60 to 90 days. There are a lot of factors that can make the process shorter or longer. Depending on your case, the court’s schedule, and the other biological or absent biological parent can change the time frame. If they are around, will they consent or object to the adoption? These are things that factor into it.

If you are engaged or considering getting married soon, find out how Step Up Adoption can help your family become a family in the eyes of the law through step-parent adoption.